Method of and apparatus for treating material.



S. M. CUTTER. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2. I915.

Patented (M. 24, 1916.

MF/ELH 0F BLAST--- I I I 1 n v ETATEE nuns. orrip w 1?:

SOLOMON M. CUTTER, 0E WETI-IERSFIELD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THECAPEWELL HORSE NAIL COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OFCON- NECTICUT.

moaaca Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Cot. 2a, rare.

Application filed March 2, 1915. Serial No. 11,633.

To all whom it may concern: Y

Be it known that I, SoLoMoN M. CUTTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Wethersfield, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMethods of and Apparatus for Treating Material, of. which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to a method or process of treating stripmaterial. The term strip" is herein used in a broad sense to includelengths of material of relatively restricted transverse sectional areawhich in form may be solid or hollow, defined by a curve or curves,triangular, rectangular, or polygonal. The method involved is applicablewithout material modification in many cases, it being especiallyadapted, however, for effecting the removal of scale from metal rods orwire,

Heretofore in finishing such stock it has been customary to submit it toa cleaning process involving a considerablenumber of operations,including crimping, acid treatment, washing and baking and requiringbulky cumbersome apparatus. Inasmuch as each of the several operationsmentioned necessitates re-handling of the stock a proportionately largeforce of operatives has been required to do the work. After the stock isthoroughly cleaned it is drawn through a die or dies to reduce its areain cross section to the dimensions and form required. The method orprocess comprising the present invention may immediately precede thereducing operation and it is applicable to completely fulfill itsfunction upon the stock as the latter passes in a continuous movement tothe drawing die or dies.

The primary object of my invention as evinced by the foregoingstatements is the provision of a simple and eflicient method of treatingmaterial in a continuous, rapid and inexpensive manner.

Other objects of the invention will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of the presentspecification there is shown in detail one convenient form of embodimentof the invention. It is, however, to be understood that the invention isnot present invention. Fig. 2 is an endview of the tank shown in Fig. 1showing a guiding device. Fig. 3 is a sectional View on line 33 ofFig. 1. Flg. 4 is a' longitudinal sectionaL view of a modified form pfthe appa- I ratus shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a view slmilar to Fig. 1showing still another form of apparatus. Fig. 6 is a detail diagrammaticView drawn to an exaggerated scale. Figs. 7 and 8 are enlarged sectionalviews respectively on lines 7-7 and 8-8 of Fig. 4;.

Like characters of reference designate similarparts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.

The material to be treated may consist of a wire or rod, as 2, its formin cross section being shown as rectangular. Preferably a section ofsaid rod is inclosed in a box or tank, as 3, for confining the cleaningsubstance, which is directed in a blast against the rod through asuitable nozzle, as 4. The cleaning material which may comprise amixture of sand and water can be advantageously supplied to the blastnozzle by 10- eating the latter in the bottom of the tank. In thisposition the base of the nozzle will be surrounded by the cleaningmaterial so that a blast of steam or air supplied through the pipe 5 andforced through said nozzle will carry with it a quantity of sand andwater drawn through the holes 6.

In the end walls of the tank 3 are supported guides, as 7 and 8, formaintaining the rod within the field of the sand-blast. An opening 9 inthe guide 7 receives the stock as it is introduced into the tank 3. Thewalls pf said opening engage the lateral surfaces of the stock, which isprevented thereby from rotating about its longitudinal axis, although itis free to move in the direction thereof.

The guide 8 oppositely disposed with respect to the guide 7 confinesstock held therein against relative rotation, and it will be apparenttherefore that the stock extending through and between the two guides 7and 8 is positively held against rotation relative toboth of saidguides. It follows that the stock between the guides, will, if one ofthem is rotated, be twisted about its longitudinal axis. As verydesirable results, hereinafter apparent, accrue through such twisting ofthe stock, means are provided in connection with one of the guidesforturning it with respect to the other. Said means shown in connectionwith guide 8 may consist of a worm gear 10 rigid with the guide, and aworm 11 in mesh with the gear, mounted on a shaft 11 journaled in asuitable support 12, and provided with a crank 13.

Referring to Fig. 6 it will be observed that by twisting thestocksufliciently a full turn thereof may be restricted within the fieldof the blast. Due to this twisted condition of that portion of the rodbetween the guides 7 and 8 all of the lateral surfaces of said rod willtraverse spiral paths as the rod is moved in the direction of itslength. This fact will be clearly apparent. from observation of thedotted lines in Fig. 6, which indicate the relative position ofthe sidesof the stock at separated successive points. Assuming the stock to bepassing through the guides in the direction indicated by the arrow A inthe twisted condition in which it is shown, the sidesa,b,c,ol,constantly change their position or rotate about thelongitudinal axis of the stock in the direction indicated by arrow. B.It follows that each surface will be presented to the blast at allangles, from that of a plane extending transversely at right anglestothe blast, to planes extending parallel therewith. This de scribedtwisting of the stock serves to efiect a cleavage of the brittle scaleor outer surface thereof from the homogenous ductile interior metal andthe objectionable part thus loosened is thoroughly removed by theparticles of sand which impinge thereupon at every' angle. Finally asthe stock passes through the drawing die in guide 8 it is reduced andstraightened into the required condition.

The modified form of apparatus shown in Fig. 4 is practically like thatof Fig. 1. It diflers therefrom only in the number of nozzles employed,there being two in this case designated, respectively, by 21 and 22.When two nozzles are employed they may be spaced to direct therespective blasts therefrom at separated areas on the length of stockwithin the blast chamber, and the twist in the stock will be soregulated as to present opposite corners of said stock to the respectiveblasts (seeFigs. 7 and 8) whereby two adjacent sides of the stock willbe impinged by one blast and the other two adjacent sides of the stockwill be impinged by the other blast.

As shown in Fig. 5 the blast chamber is furnished with but one blastnozzle, as in Fig. 1, but in this modified form of the apparatus guides30 and 31 corresponding to guides 7 and 8 are each rotatably mounted andeach has secured thereto a gear, as 32 and 33, respectively. Suitablymounted on the blast chamber is a shaft 34, driven by a pulley 35, andprovided with gears 36, 37, which mesh respectively with the gears 32and In this arrangement of the apparatus no twisting action is appliedto the stock, instead it is simply rotated as it passes in the directionof its length, such rotation being imparted by the guides which arerotated in unison by the mechanism described. The speed of this rotarymotion is so proportioned to the speed of the longitudinal motion as toeffect a presentation of all surfaces of the stock to the action of theblast.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for treating strip material including in combination, ablast nozzle, guides for holding a strip in position to be impinged by ablast from said nozzle, and means for relatively moving said guides totwist the strip.

2. The method of treating strip material which consists in subjecting asection of a longitudinally moving strip simultaneously 9 to a twistingaction to loosen the scale therefrom and to a blast directedthereagainst to remove the loosened scale.

3. The method of treating strip material which consists in guiding astrip in a path in which it is twisted about its longitudinal axis, anddirecting against the twisted portion of said strip a blast whereby alllateral surfaces of the strip are impinged by the blast.

4. The method of treating strip material which consists in guiding astrip in a path in which it is twisted about its longitudinal axis anddirecting against the twisted portion of said strip separated blastswhereby all lateral surfaces of the strip are impinged by a blast.

5. The method of treating strip material which consists in subjecting asection of a strip to a twisting action to loosen the scale thereon anddirecting a blast against the loosened scale to remove the same.

6. The method of treating strip material which consists in subjecting asection of a strip simultaneously to a twisting action to loosen thescale therefrom and to a blast diriacted thereagainst to remove theloosened sca e.

7. The method of treating strip material which consists in passing astrip longitudinally through a pair of guides positioned to effectrotary motion of the stock therebetween when the strip is movedlongitudinally and directing a blast against the rotatable portion ofthe strip.

8. Apparatus for treating strip material In testimony whereof I aifix mysignature including in combination a blait nozzle, and in presence oftwo witnesses. I means for guiding a portion 0 a strip in a helical pathso related to said nozzle as to SOLOMON CUTTER V to cause each side ofsaid strip to be similarly Witnesses:

presented toward the nozzle during a single L. L. GAYLORD, passage ofthe strip through said path. F. E. ANDERSON.

